While the rest of the nation rejoices around February 14 in the name of Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate all types of love, Arizonians also celebrate that day as the birthday of our beloved Grand Canyon state. That’s right; on February 14, 1912, President William Taft signed a legislation that allowed Arizona to officially become a state, earning the nickname of “State 48” out of 50. So, to celebrate Arizona’s 111th birthday, let’s take a look at a few fun facts about Arizona that even you might know about!

1. In the beginning, Arizona only had four counties, despite being the one of the largest states at the time: Mohave, Yuma, Pima and Yavapai. Later, as the state’s population grew, so did its counties, and now, we have 15 counties in total: Maricopa, Pinal, Apache, La Paz, Gila, Coconino, Santa Cruz, Graham, Cochise, Navajo, Greenlee, and the four counties that we had to begin with.
2. The name “Arizona” was derived from a native place that sounded like Aleh-zon or Ali-Shonak, which meant “small spring” or “place of the small spring”, according to the Arizona State Library records.
3. Civil Rights activists Cesar Chavez was actually from Arizona. He, along with Dolores Huerta, were responsible for co-founding the National Farm Workers Association, which was a stepping stone into our present United Farm Workers Labor Union.
4. Arizona is the sixth largest state in the nation at 113,990 square miles/295,234 square kilometers. The five other states before Arizona are Alaska (586,000 square miles), Texas (261,232 square miles), California (155,959 square miles), Montana (145,552 square miles), and New Mexico (121,298 square miles).
5. The Grand Canyon is older than the dinosaurs, although the canyon itself didn’t form until after the dinosaurs went extinct. However, the canyon DOES have fossils ranging from ancestors of marine animals to more recent mammals that would have died thousands of years ago.

It’s crazy that our state is barely over 100 years old and is filled with cultures and heritage that has preserved years, even centuries. Hopefully, you walk away from this article knowing a little bit more about Arizona and as always, remember to strive for the impossible and be extraordinary!